The English Twenty20 cricket champions are the winners of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Twenty20 competition for first-class cricket counties, most recently the Friends Life t20, although from 2014 this has been replaced with the NatWest t20 Blast. The competition culminates with 'Finals Day': a single day on which both semi-finals and the final are contested at the same ground.[1] Somerset are the current champions, claiming their second title in the 2023 season.
Twenty20 cricket was developed by the ECB to attract new, younger audiences to cricket.[2] Replacing the 50 overs-per-side 'Benson & Hedges Cup',[3] the 'Twenty20 Cup' was introduced in 2003, and was over two hours shorter than its predecessor, and matches also featured greater entertainment off the field, such as live music, barbecues, fancy dress and karaoke.[4] The competition was rebranded as the 'Friends Provident t20' in 2010,[5] and a season later as the 'Friends Life t20'.[6] In 2014, the competition became known as the NatWest t20 Blast. For the first seven years of the competition, teams were allowed one overseas player, as in the other domestic tournaments, but from the 2010 season, each team was allowed two.[7] The finalists in both 2009 and 2011 qualified for the Champions League Twenty20, an international competition between the leading domestic teams from the major cricketing nations.[8][9]
The competition was won in its inaugural season by Surrey, and in the twenty seasons that it has run, it has been won by thirteen different counties. Leicestershire and Hampshire have won the competition on the most occasions, doing so three times.[10] Somerset have contested more finals than any other team; as well as winning the competition in 2005 and 2023, they were losing finalists in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2021.[11]
- ^ Rowland, Nicholas (14 July 2023). "T20 Blast Finals Day 2023: All you need to know". thecricketer.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ Auld, Freddie (9 May 2003). "A whole new ball-game – the Twenty20 Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Brett, Oliver (13 November 2002). "Pure entertainment beckons". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 14 July 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Twenty20 Cup heralds change at start of the 2003 first-class county cricket season". ESPNcricinfo. 17 April 2003. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Liew, Jonathan (1 June 2010). "Sussex begin defence of Twenty20 title with victory over Somerset". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "Professional Cricketers turn to Friends". Friends Life. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Telegraph staff (19 November 2009). "Middlesex sign Adam Gilchrist for Twenty20 Cup and now look to Sachin Tendulkar". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Hoult, Nick (7 October 2009). "Somerset and Sussex outsiders in Champions League Twenty20 dash for cash". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ Berry, Scyld (27 August 2011). "Leicestershire complete T20 treble after beating Somerset at Edgbaston". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "T20 Blast Finals Day: Hampshire beat Lancashire in double final-ball thriller to win for third time". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Six appeal". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.